The Ottobar's gig request form
Landing a gig at a local club isn't always easy. Sometimes you have to know the owner, or one of the more popular bands that plays there. Or maybe you email the club or snail mail them your press kit.
It can be a confusing and really frustrating process. That's why I really like what The Ottobar (2549 N. Howard St.) is doing ...
They put a Gig Request Form on their web site. Bands can fill in the form with their hometown, genre, MySpace site, contact, etc. and the folks at the venue will consider them for a show.
Sounds like a great idea. I wish other clubs around town were doing this.
The only thing that made me scratch my head about the form was "Average age of band members." Hmm. Does that reflect the band's appeal? It's coolness factor? I mean, there are aging rock bands around town whose average age has to be 40s or 50s. Does that make them less gig-worthy?
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
The phrase "This form is for band consideration, not for show booking" is interesting to me. I think it differentiates betweens bands that are blindly chasing them for gigs, and those that have a chance of getting them. My guess would be that this form is to reduce the amount of unprofessional "hey, check my band out" spam they get. Those with plans for a lineup and marketing and dates in mind will still go to the head of the class.
Posted by: bonnie | October 30, 2008 2:11 PM
Slightly off topic (and I apologize in advance), but my friends' band, Whale Show, is playing there tonight. Check it out if you're free. Show starts at 10:30. They play Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash type of music. You can listen to a few of their tracks here
Editor's Note: I'm going to start cracking down on solicitations. Midnight Sun is not a corkboard for gig announcements, events, etc. However, I have met Uncle Dave Huber, who is a member of Whale Show, and I like him. So I'll let this one slide. Also, I don't like writing in italics at the bottom of comments. But they left me no choice.
Posted by: jim | October 30, 2008 2:45 PM
I saw that about the age once when I was checking out that form another time, however, I thought it was perhaps for the opposite reason you're thinking. I thought they may be trying to eliminate young'uns...reducing the amount of high school cover bands. I wonder if any shows have been put together using bands that submitted the form yet.
Posted by: Terry | October 30, 2008 5:09 PM
fletchers uses the same type of form:
http://www.fletchersbar.com/index.cfm?page=playfletchers
Posted by: Anonymous | November 3, 2008 11:31 AM
I'd guess the age thing has to do with the night and time the band would possibly play. Ottobar has a bunch of all ages shows and they usually begin at 6 or 7 PM rather than the 18 or 21+ shows that usually go on at 9 or 10.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 12, 2008 1:57 PM